Launching Conference of the Regional Thematic Network

From 5/24/2016 until05/29/2016, Tunis

The first of three regional conferences for participants of the Young Leaders’ Regional Thematic Network brought together 26 young adults from 12 countries in the MENA region. The event featured an intensive dialogue with experts, political actors and civil society representatives.

Keynote speeches, panel discussions and workshop sessions addressed employment as a crucial element of the call for social justice in the MENA-Region in the context of the Arab Spring. The participants discussed structural causes of persisting unemployment, especially among women and youth, as well as mobilizations by social movements in the face of socio-economic crisis on both a national and a regional level. They also broached the issue of how to extend social protection coverage.

These workshops and debates provided the participants with the opportunity to strengthen their position as young professionals, who seek to take a stake in political decision-making and civil society advocacy.